Iowa’s Wurst Road Trip: Casing Downtown Iowa City

*The Bread Garden gave us some complimentary products during our visit here. This does not affect our review and the opinions expressed on this post are of our own. Below the towering urban landscape of Iowa City is one of Downtown’s favorite destinations for a grocery store, restaurant, deli, coffee shop, beer and wine bar…Let’s get to the article. 225 South Linn Street

There’s always been a lot to do in Downtown Iowa City and, in recent years, the district has added A LOT more to experience with A LOT more on the way. We’ve been to several local meat lockers on Iowa’s Wurst Road Trip, but we’re not forgetting the metro areas and their hard working sausage makers. Bread Garden Market is a staple for locals, students, visitors,and anyone who want to know where to find the “Wurst”!

You hungry for some of the pizza in town? Bread Garden Market makes it incredibly easy for you to make your decision and order. Just follow the touchscreen prompts and, in minutes, you will have fresh handmade pizza. We ordered the Margheritta with their house made Italian sausage added to it and their veggie pizza that’s baked with a beautiful pesto sauce. As you can see, they don’t skimp on the fresh arugula garnishing the top when it comes out of the oven. That’s a must have at the Bread Garden Market!

There’s a lot more to Bread Garden Market! Fresh baked breads, desserts and pastries. A fantastic variety of Gelato, artisan cheeses, a world of wines, beers, kombucha taps, fresh produce, meats and aisles filled with what you need on your grocery list. And don’t leave without taking in the Bread Garden’s famous salad bar and hot bar! They love to switch it up, so it keeps their fan base excited to what they’re coming up with next. All this is great, but you know why we really came to Downtown Iowa City on this day. Our kitchen got quite the workout this week….

Hold on! You don’t need to leave for Sweden! Bread Garden Market has that covered for you!

Well, the sausage part anyway. They make a Swedish Potato sausage that got the cozy omelette treatment at our breakfast table. Grilled onion and shredded Swiss cheese for the win and a round of toasted Norwegian Lefse. Thank you, Scandinavia!

Welcome to my belly, Bread Garden!

Lunch time had a gourmet kick in a brat bun. Bread Garden’s Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Brat topped with banana and hot peppers, sautéed onions, and rich Gorgonzola cheese. Finished off in the oven to melt the cheese and give every bite a nice roasty-toasty flavor.

Cook until bubbly….That’s how I was raised.

Giant pasta shells stuffed ricotta cheese, herbs and Bread Garden’s famous Italian sausage. What else happened, JayJay? Well, this is how it went down…Out came the casserole dish and we added a sweet tomato basil sauce, topped it with mozzarella and into the oven it went! Sauteed mushrooms and asparagus filled out the dinner and they all played nice with each other. True story!

There’s green peppers in this pic. You just wait and see…I mean read.

The final sausage of our Bread Garden adventure was their Green Pepper and Onion Brat and we stuffed it in a roasted red bell pepper topped with a caramelized onion-saffron risotto. That last sentence was a mouthful and rightfully so. If there is anything I learned is that Bread Garden Market makes your shopping and dining experience memorable when you’re in Downtown Iowa City AND when you get home. We’ll see if they win our Wurst Award in December!

That’s how you flex your muscles at Bread Garden Market!

Be sure to read about the other communities contending in Iowa’s Wurst Road Trip!